‘You can feel the energy’ Area teams eager to get back in the gym this week for contact days

Jack Mielke described this last week as a roller coaster of emotions.

He’s surely not alone.

To go from the prospect of his high school basketball career possibly being over, to being allowed to practice, to now potentially playing again, that’s quite a seven days for the Downers Grove North senior.

“It has had me all over the place,” said Mielke, who is playing collegiately at Southern Indiana. “But I’m very happy with where it looks like it’s all going.”

Four days after the Illinois Department of Public Health announced that all sports – basketball included – can be played in all regions in Phase 4, the Trojans were back in the gym Tuesday. Mielke is not yet able to practice with the team, but hopes to soon.

Downers Grove North coach Jim Thomas could feel the energy last Friday when he got on the Zoom call to deliver the news to his team that basketball could be a go.

“I got on the Zoom call, told our guys, and their eyes just popped out,” Thomas said. “The dialogue the last week has just changed dramatically. It’s so much more positive. You can feel that energy. Hopefully we keep moving in that direction.

The IHSA cleared teams to start practicing this week for contact days. Downers Grove North, like most teams, is easing back into things.

“We’re going to have a little bit of a combine,” Thomas said. “We’re going to keep it light, fun, healthy for a few days. It won’t be practice as usual.”

It makes sense, when you consider coaches like Thomas don’t know when they’re preparing for. The IHSA is expected to release a schedule Wednesday to show when basketball, football and other sports will be played. Thomas has heard from “the best source I have” that basketball would run from February to mid-March, games starting after the required 12 practices, but it’s anyone’s guess.

“We’re not even worried about it, to be honest,” Thomas said. “I know the West Suburban Conference administrators are really wanting them to play.”

At Glenbard West, Jason Opoka’s Hilltoppers couldn’t wait to get back in the gym. The day after the news broke that higher-risk sports could conceivably be played, Glenbard West was getting shots up Saturday.

“We got the news from the governor, the kids were excited to get back. They wanted to go as early as possible,” Opoka said. “We told them if you want to go in for an hour Saturday, would you be willing? They were chomping at the bit. It was best to get our kids back to that normalcy.”

The Hilltoppers got back at it for late sessions Monday and Tuesday night, but Opoka isn’t pushing them too hard too early. Region 8, which includes DuPage County, moved to Tier 1 on Tuesday, which allows basketball teams to scrimmage.

“I’m just trying to get some skill work, get them together with friends, today our region moved to Tier 1 so hopefully we can compete a little bit but it’s a process,” Opoka said.

Mike Dunn, hired as boys basketball coach at York in July, had just four days of summer camp with his new program, and nine contact days in the fall. The Dukes’ athletic programs are on hold until the IHSA’s announcement Wednesday. When York does start, Dunn plans to build off the foundation he started to lay in the fall.

“One thing as a coach, but really as a teacher sometimes you learn that less is more. Just get your core stuff in,” Dunn said. “This is a nice breath of fresh air, but you don’t want to overwhelm kids with what you want to do.”

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Zach Stalilionis shoots the ball during the first official contact day for boys basketball at Downers Grove North High School on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. (Sandy Bressner - sbressner@shawmedia.com)

Thomas said his team got in about 14 days of practice time during fall contact days. As things reconvene this week, the Trojans will do their usual drills they grade kids on, do a couple shooting series and a little conditioning.

“It’s for those guys to know where they are, have they got better, where do they need to be to consider themselves an all-conference type guard,” Thomas said. “We’re not going to kill them running, but they need to know where their conditioning is.”

Mielke said he has been working out multiple times a day since fall workouts concluded. He was able to work out with his Breakaway Basketball AAU team until Illinois went into Tier 3 mitigations. Since then he’s been working out himself to prepare for whenever he plays next.

“At this point, I just want at least one shot to go out there and lay it all on the line with my guys,” Mielke said. “I’m just hoping to go into battle with the group of people that have had such a great impact on my life as many times as humanly possible.”

With a senior-laden team led by Mielke, Thomas can afford to take his time.

“I know other coaches are going through stuff,” Thomas said. “With a senior-laden team, we have stuck in the back pocket. We’re a little bit ahead of schedule in that regard. We have some kids we’re keeping out this week, we’re trying to do our due diligence.”

Opoka is eager to get a season started, with good reason.

Glenbard West’s roster is oozing with talent and size. Braden Huff, a 6-foot-8 junior, has offers from Wisconsin, Northwestern and Creighton. Caden Pierce, a 6-5 junior, has offers from UIC and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“The Hilltoppers, I don’t know what we’re eating, but we’re eating some good vegetables,” Opoka said. “The Hilltoppers haven’t had this talent in a while. We’re excited to get a season going if we can get one.”

Whatever happens this season, Dunn said that coaches and players alike have gained the appreciation of just having the opportunity to be out there together. With a core group of seniors led by Jeff Grace, he feels he has kids at York with the maturity to take a difficult situation and build off of it.

“We’re trying to stay positive,” Dunn said. “The biggest thing is, if this goes through, is the appreciation to be with the guys, the kids being together, being part of a team. You kind of take that for granted, we all did.”